Summary

The bay horse has not been identified, although the picture is believed to have been
painted for Arthur Annesley, 9th Viscount Valentia (died 1816). The horse's ears are cropped in accordance with contemporary fashion. The animal is placed in a landscape of mallow and dock, which grow in the shade of a clump of trees in the foreground
on the right. In the background are a lake on the left, and a church and village on the far shore. Basil Taylor (p.214) notes that the background in this work is characteristic of Stubbs's landscape during the following decade.

Stubbs's earlier
works usually depicted horses with a groom, jockey or owner, whereas in his later pictures, such as this one, the animals were more often shown in solitude.

Display caption

Stubbs’s paintings of animals convey a feeling of grandeur and nobility, combined with a sense of exacting realism. This unidentified bay horse probably belonged to Arthur Annesley, 9th Viscount Valentia. The horse’s ears are cropped and its tail docked in accordance with contemporary fashion. Stubbs’s earlier horse portraits usually showed the animal accompanied by a groom, stable boy, jockey or owner. However, in many later works, such as this, the horse is shown in solitude.

The horse has not been identified. Its cropped ears (a current fashion) rob the animal of much of its natural dignity. Taylor (op. cit.) notes that the background in this work is characteristic of Stubbs's landscape during the following decade.